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Aug 1, 2016

Let’s Get to Work and Elect Hillary Clinton!

I wish I could say I’m surprised at the number of people who have a hate on for Hillary Clinton but, after an an almost thirty year, very well-funded campaign against her, I can’t. While the crowd’s heckling during the Republican National Convention was (unfortunately) what passes as partisan politics these days, Chris Christie’s mock witch trial was pretty low even for the new normal.

I admit I do find it surprising when the same sort of vitriol is repeated by those on the progressive side of the political spectrum. Especially by folks like Jill Stein, who has actually argued Trump and Clinton would be equally harmful to the causes she as a Green holds dear.

Frankly, I just can’t understand those who claim there is no difference between the two presidential candidates; who assert that choosing between them is like deciding between cholera and gonorrhea.

There are miles and miles of differences between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Those who say otherwise are exhibiting a very selfish kind of privilege, the kind which lets them overlook mountains of evidence to the contrary because they think they would be safe from the negative repercussions of their support for Trump or a third party candidate.

Those of us lined up in the cross hairs, know we are targets. We know there are lives on the line this election.

We’ve heard his rhetoric against undocumented workers, refugees and asylum seekers. He has been plain as day with his talk of walls and banning Muslimseven traveling to the United States. In contrast, Hillary speaks of a path to full and equal citizenship and how American has always built our economy with the efforts of immigrants.

The LGBTQ community has every reason to be concerned about how fairly we will be treated if Trump becomes president. Besides running on his party’s tremendously anti-LGBTQ platform, Trump has vowed to appoint judges to overturn marriage equality and has expressed support for the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) which would lead to more discrimination. Clinton vows to fight for full equality (including transgender equality) both here and abroad.

And it is of vital importance for the health of the nation and the lives of our African American brothers and sisters that we confront racial injustice and enact police reform. Can you even envision addressing systemic racism in a world where Trump is president? After Trump has encouraged his supporters to attack protestors of color and after he said Black Lives Matter activists instigated the recent killings of police officers? Clinton has had missteps but she has started a dialogue and stated she would seek to overhaul of drug sentencing laws, prohibit racial profiling, end private prisons and detention centers and “ban the box.”

Just think about those of the most vulnerable among us like those with impairments or disabilities — how many vital social programs will he work to cut? Remember, Trump openly mocked the differently abled while Clinton fights for expanding Medicare, protecting Social Security and disability rights.

Equal pay and reproductive justice are two of the many issues facing women and families in the upcoming election. While Trump may be wishy washy on abortion access, his running mate is clearly not. Hillary Clinton has been an advocate for women and families her entire career and makes such issues a cornerstone of her campaign.

Even the Pentagon recognizes that environmental issues impact national security. Trump, on the other hand, calls global warming a “hoax” and claims climate science is “bullshit,” while Clinton has a ten year planto address climate change and advance clean energy.

I could go on but I’d rather have you seriously consider that even if you are personally protected from the consequences of a Trump presidency if you would be willing to risk the actual lives of your fellow Americans?

Hillary Clinton might not be the candidate you want, but she’s the most qualified candidate we have and is definitely the most prepared to work for best for the country.

Hillary Clinton will nominate justices to the Supreme Court who are prepared to overturn Citizens United. Her Supreme Court appointments will also defend a woman’s right to choose, workers’ rights, the rights of the LGBT community, the needs of minorities and immigrants and the government’s ability to protect the environment.

If you don’t believe this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties, equal rights and the future of our country.

Exactly.

Hillary Clinton has put forth achievable policy prescriptions for a lot of issues I care about. Check herefor her statement of positions. Despite the accusations to the contrary, she has one of the most progressive voting records in her time in the Senate, putting her to the left of Obama and 93% in line with Sanders. As she said during one of the debates, “I’m a progressive, but I’m a progressive that likes to get things done.”

In this election, we cannot sit back and hope that everything works out for the best, we cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical. Hear me: Between now and November, we need to do what we did eight years ago and four years ago. We need to knock on every door, we need to get out every vote, we need to pour every last ounce of passion into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America. Let’s get to work.

Agreed. Let’s get to work because Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th — less than 100 days away!